Means for facilitating the classification of railroad cars



Jan. 3, 1956 0. w. BROSNAN 2, MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE CLASSIFICATION OF RAILROAD CARS Filed 7, 1952 4 Sheets-Shem. 1

INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 3, 195 w. W. BHOSNAN mzw MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE CLASSIFICATION OF RAILROAD CARS Filed Aug. 7, 1952 4a swam-Sheet 2 E 23 INVENTOR x Y ATTORNEYS Jan. 3, 1956 n. w. BROSNAN MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE. CLASSIFICATION OF RAILROAD CARS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 7, 1952 ATFORNI \5 D. W. BROSNAN MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE CLASSIFICATION Jan. 3, 1956 OF RAILROAD CARS Filed Aug. 7. 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VENTOR m pd %mm fil / y ATTORNEYj mmld United States Patent() MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE CLASSIFICA- TION OF RAILROAD CARS Dennis William Brosnan, Washington, D. C. Application August 7, 1952, Serial No. 303,039 7 Claims. (Cl. 213-1) In the classification of railroad cars in all currently operating railroad car classification yards, including those in which car retarding devices and other helpful mechanical aids are employed as well as those which are devoid of such features, and in the so-called flat yards as well as those which include inclined trackways down which cars are caused to roll toward the classification tracks, every elfort is made to minimize the time needed to eflect the incorporation of the several cars of a train being broken up into trains being newly formed. The speed with which these operations may be accomplished is a measure of the overall operating elficiency of the classification yard, it being obviously highly desirable to reduce as much as possible the time which elapses after a car is received at such a yard and before its departure to a destination elsewhere. In some instances a railroad car will, in its movement from shipping point to destination, remain longer in classification yards along the way than it will in movement along the stretches of trackway connecting the classification yards. If classification time can be reduced materially the load-carrying efliciency of a railroad will be increased accordingly.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a method of and means for facilitating the classification of railroad cars in classification yards whereby a substantial reduction in operating costs is effected, major savings in the time required for a classification operation are realized, and the safety and efliciency of the operating personnel of the yard increased. These important advantages result from the utilization of a method of and means for ensuring that the leading coupler ofeach car moving onto a classification track is definitely in'condition to automatically couple or interlock with the trailing coupler of a car which may have immediately preceded it onto that particular track.

All railroad cars are equipped with couplers and these couplers, while possibly varying in minor particulars, are of uniform character in major features so that any railroad car, regardlessof type, ownership or identity of its manufacturer, may be coupled to any other car wherever it is desired to establish such a connection. Each standard coupler includes what isgenerally termed a draw head, together with elements movably mounted upon the draw head which actually acomplish the interlock which occurs when two couplers meet, one such element being the knuckle and a second being a knuckle locking device. part which is mounted for pivotal movement on the extreme outer end of the draw head, the axis about which the knuckle rotates being substantially vertically disposed. The knuckle ordinarily occupies one or the other of two extreme positions, i. e. a position in which it is said to be open and a position in which it is said to' be closed or locked. When" the couplers of two cars. are brought into contact at a time when both knuckles are open each knuckle engages and rotates or oscillates,the mating knuckle, both moving toward and into closed position upon full mutual impact. Upon The conventional knuckle is a heavy A reaching closed position each knuckle locking means functions to hold the associated knuckle in that position and, under these conditions, the couplers are interlocked and may not be separated until at least one of the knuckles is released by the manual operation of the associated locking mechanism. The conventional coupler and the manner of its use is known to all and an extended reference to its characteristic manner of functioning is all that is necessary.

It is a fact, however, that difficulty has long been experienced in the classification of cars in a classification yard due to the fact that the conventional coupler knuckle is not positively locked against movement when it is in its open position and hence may be caused to accidentally close, wholly or in part, prior to the time when it is to engage a mating knuckle, thus preventing the two associated couplers from interlocking. For instance, a car may be caused to move onto one of a number of classification tracks and, in accordance with practice, a second car caused to move onto the same track, it being intended that the momentum of the second car will cause its leading coupler to engage the trailing coupler of the first car on that particular track so that the two cars will automatically interlock. It may so happen, however, that the momentum acquired by the second car will be insufiicient to cause it to advance along the trackway through the distance desired, and it may come to a halt before its leading coupler has engaged the trailing coupler of a car previously moved onto that trackway.

In the ordinary course of breaking up an incoming train it may be expected that a third car will sooner or later be moved onto the trackway which has already received the two which have not been coupled together and, in the event that this third car strikes the second car with some force the knuckle of the leading coupler of the second car, which knuckle is then standing open but wholly disengaged, will be caused by the impact of the third car against the second, to swing to closed position, thus making it impossible for that coupler to couple itself to the trailing coupler of the car which was first moved onto that classification track, even though the coupler of the second car may have been brought into contact with the trailing coupler of the first car rather violently.

Under such circumstances the classification yard attendants must function to effect by hand the coupling operation which was supposed to have been accomplished automatically and a great deal of their time is presently necessarily spent in attending to such duties. In addition it is necessary to utilize the services of switching engines and crews. This failure of two cars to automatically couple during classification operations, for the reasons stated and occasional other reasons, is avery frequent rather than isolated occurrence and a great deal of time is lost in classification operations, which proceedday and night in many classification yards throughout the country. The overall efiiciency of the railroads as carriers is reduced, and the costs of transportation are materially increased by these happenings, due to the necessity of maintaining yard crews of large size to exercise constant vigilance and effect manual coupling when automatic coupling fails, and the need to employ a substantial number of switching engines and crews therefor.

My invention contemplates the utilization of means to positively restrain against accidental closing movement the knuckle of the leading coupler of each successive miss it moves toward one orthe other of a number of classification tracks. The restrained knuckle of such a coupler may not for any reason, such for instance as thecause mentioned, accidentally close either wholly or.in part. The locking against accidental movement of the knuckles of the leading couplers of cars which successively pass aselected station assures automatic coupling under all conditions, provided of course that the couplers of adjacent cars are brought together with sufficient force in the formation of trains, the need to frequently manually manipulate knuckles in order to complete coupling operations being wholly eliminated. The means which is employed to prevent the accidental closure of a coupler knuckle may be generally described as a frangible element inasmuch as it will be destroyed when one coupler meets another with normal coupling force and may under no circumstances prevent the mating knuckles from moving into coupled relationship.

Preferably Iemploy, as knuckle locking means, wedges of fibrous nature, for'instance, wedges cut from ordinary fiber wall board such as that known as Celotex, one such wedgebeing driven into the forwardly opening recess in the coupler which is defined by the tail of the knuckle, when the knuckle is in open position, and the face of the aperture in the draw head within which the knuckle is movably supported. A frangible wedge driven into this recess, which is found in all couplers when the knuckles thereof are in open position, wedges itself between oppositely facing surfaces of the draw head and the tail of the knuckle and constitutes a means for locking the knuckle against movement under the application of minor forces. However, as previously mentioned, the frangible locking element disintegrates when one coupler forcibly meets another so that the normal coupling operation may proceed. The locking element thus temporarily but effectively enters into combination with the draw head and knuckle of a coupler and forms an interrral portion of the coupler during the relatively sh rt interval of time between its pplicati n and the instant f cont ct of the coupler of wh ch it f rms a part ith the trailing coupler of a car which has pre eded it onto a cl ssific t on track. During this oeri d f t me it is th roughly effective as a lockin element "14 s f"n"- tions as a s fety device in that it wh lly elimirvtes the need f r at endants to enter between cars n the classificati"n tracks.

The meth d has proven to be hi hly effective in actu l use and one form of means for applying the fran ible locking elements t the couplers of advancing cars h s been employed with great success. This wedge applying mechanism is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be described in detail. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the wedge applying mechanism may be varied in character and that which is illustrated and'described is set forth by way of example only.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the leading end of a conventional coupler, the knuckle being shown in open position and the mechanism for projecting the frangible element beinglshownin position to discharge a wedge into locking engagement withthe tail of the knuckle and the oppositely facing surface of a recess in the draw head;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same coupler with associated frangible element projector;

Figure 3 is a view looking down upon the leading end of a coupler the knuckle of which has been locked in open position by such a frangible element, the closure being broken away to show clearly the manner in which the frangible element engages the knuckle tail and the mutually facing adjacent surfaces of the draw head;

Figure 4 is a partial section through the handle of the frangible element projector, showing certain details;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the frangible element projector, partly broken away;

i Figure dis. a longitudinal section through thebody of the projector, showing a frangible element and the projecting plunger aligned therewith;

"Figure 7 is a section on line 7---"/'' 'of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one of the frangible knuckle locking elements;

Figure 9 is a section through the body of the frangible element projector, showing the plunger and the arrangement of valves and ducts for leading compressed air to the plunger cylinder for operation of the plunger, the plunger being shown in retracted position;

Figure 10 is a similar view showing the plunger at the opposite end of its stroke;

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic view of a classification yard as seen from above;

Figure 12 shows in plan a short section of trackway and a railroad car thereon, the leading coupler of the car being illustrated and the essential parts of the frangible element projecting means being shown; and

Figure 13 is a side view of rather diagrammatic nature showing in side elevation the same portion of trackway and associated mechanism, the car being omitted.

It has been made clear that the invention relates to means for locking the knuckles of all standard couplers and, the essentials of the standard railroad car coupler being well known both with respect to its specific structure and function, it is only partially illustrated in the drawings. The draw head is indicated at 10, the knuckle at 11, and the pin upon which the knuckle is mounted for oscillation is indicated at 12. In Figures 1, 2 and 3 the knuckle is shown in its characteristic open position and, when so positioned, the convexly curved face 13 of the tail of the knuckle occupies a position relatively cl:se to the oppositely facing surface 14 of the wall of the recess formed in the draw head 10 for the reception of the oscillating knuckle. The surfaces 13 and 14 together define a recess which is of a generally tapering configuration in horizontal section, and into which the frangible element, which is indicated at 15, may be driven by any suitable means selected for that purpose.

"n Figures 1 and 2 the projector is shown to be in psition to drive the frangible wedge into the recess in he coupler, the frangible element being mounted upon he pr'jectcr. '11 Figure 3 the parts are shrwn after the welge has been prcjected into final position and it is with the ccupler knuckle locked and held against moveent in this manner that the car undergoing classification moves onto one or the other of the classification trackways. The wedge or frangible element 15 tightly engages the mutually facing surfaces of knuckle and draw head and, so to speak, locks the knuckle to the draw head until the draw head meets a mating draw head whereupon the knuckle will be forcibly rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) and the knuckle tail, acting in conjunction with the adjacent portion or the draw head, will simply disintegrate the wedge which, upon that happening, becomes inoperative and will .fall to the ground without impeding in any way the successful accomplishment of the actual coupling operation.

For the purpose of applying the wedge various mechanisms may be employed and it is entirely' feasible to accomplish the application of the frangible element automatically if desired. The applicator or projector which is illustrated in the drawings, however, is eminently satisfactory in operation and is of extremely simple character. It comprises essentially a body portion 20 which houses the means for projecting the element 15 into the position in which it is shown in Figure 3, an elongated handle 21 by means of which the projector head may be brought into operative position in front of a coupler by an attendant who is standing to one side of the trackway upon which an advancing car is located, and the projector head 22 which is in the nature of a template rigidly attached to the body 20 and serves as a positioning guide,.having surfaces which conform to the forwardly facing vertically disposed surfaces of .the coupler and an undersurface which is adapted to engage the uppermost surface of the forwardly projecting tailof the knuckle.

In operation of the device the attendant will grasp the handle 21 near its outer end and, while standing to one side of the trackway and moving car, will bring the projector head 22 into the position in which it is shown in Figures 1 and 2, with its vertical surfaces in contact with, or substantially in contact with, the correspondingly curved surfaces of the forward face of the draw head and a cylindrically curved inwardly facing surface of the knuckle, which surface is indicated at 23. The projector head being rigidly connected to the projector body it of necessity follows that the projector body is when the projector head is thus, properly positioned, so disposed with reference to the coupler that a frangible element may be quickly driven into position. It is found that an unskilled operator, with the aid of the projector head 22, may quickly and accurately position the projector from a station beside the trackway and drive a frangible element into knuckle locking position, that is, into the position shown in Figure 3, in an extremely short period of time and while the car is in motion. A single operator may easily thus wedge the knuckle of the leading coupler of each car moving along a single trackway toward the classification tracks even though these cars are advanced in succession as rapidly as conditions permit.

The projector selected for illustration by way of example is of the pneumatic type and functions with compressed air as a motive fluid. At one end of the projector body there is formed a wedge receiving recess indicated at 25, this being in the nature of a slot with an open end and an open side. In Figure 9 the frangible wedge is shown to be seated in the wedge receiving recess and in the position which it occupies just prior to its projection into the coupler recess. Its base rests upon the bottom wall of recess 25, its inclined side is engaged by a spring 26 which is in the nature of a positioning spring, and it is lightly clamped or retained in the position in which it is shown in this figure by a second spring 27 which engages one of its flat sides as shown in Figure 7, forcing the wedge lightly against an inserted plate 28 secured within the recess. Other specific means for mounting the wedge upon the projector may be employed.

The means for applying force to the base of the wedge 15 includes the plunger 30 the forward end 31 of which is adapted to strike the base of the wedge after the plunger has traveled a predetermined distance along the plunger receiving bore within which it is mounted for longitudinal movement, the plunger movement being sufficiently long to ensure that the wedge is driven home into the coupler recess upon a single working stroke of the plunger. Mounted upon that end of the plunger 30 which is remote from its wedge contacting end is an enlargement in the nature of a piston 33 which works longitudinally in the cylinder 34. The piston 33 is circumferentially grooved at 35, the bottom of the groove being rounded as shown. A detent 36 is normally urged by a spring 37 in such direction that its rounded inner end projects for relatively short distance into the cylinder within which the piston reciprocates, as shown in Figure 9. Prior to advancement on its working stroke the piston and associated plunger 30 are locked by the detent 36 in the position shown in this figure but, upon the application of a driving force to the base of the piston 33, the resistance offered by the detent is overcome and the piston will advance sharply on its working stroke to drive the plunger 30 against the base of the wedge.

Air vents permit escape of air from the cylinder 34 at two points, one vent 38 being formed in the plug 39 which closes the end of the cylinder and the second vent 38a being formed in the cylinder wall toward the opposite end thereof. Air under pressure for the operation of the piston 33 on its working stroke may be introduced into the cylinder through the duct 40, the passage of compressed air toward the cylinder being controlled by valve 41. Piston 33 is moved on its return stroke by compressed air which may pass into the opposite end of the cylinder from duct 42, entrance of compressed air into this duct being controlled by valve 43. Valves 41 and 43'are disposed in a common chamber 45 and are normally maintained in seated position upon the seats formed at the ends of this chamber and encircling, respectively, ports from which air may escape from this chamber, by the action of a common intermediate helical spring 46.

Either valve may be lifted from its seat, however, at the will of the operator. The valve lifting means associated with valve 43 comprises a piston 50 which works in a cylinder 51 the axis of which is aligned with the axis of chamber 45, the stem of valve 43 being aflixed to piston 50. Air under pressure introduced into cylinder 51 through duct 53 will cause the valve 43 to be lifted as shown in Figure 9 and air under pressure will flow from chamber 45 along and around the stem of valve 43 and through duct 42 into cylinder 34. Air under pressure is constantly present in chamber 45, this chamher being supplied through a duct 54 running lengthwise of the handle 21 and in communication at all times during the operation of the apparatus with a supplyof air under pressure. Valve 41 may be lifted in a similar manner, so that piston 55 is advanced by compressed air introduced into the end of the cylinder 56, within which the piston works, through a duct 57. Ducts 53 and 57 are supplied with air under pressure, but under the control of the operator, supply conduits 58 and 59 extending longitudinally of the handle 21 and being provided with control valves 60 and 61 having conveniently located operating buttons 62 and 63, respectively. As shown in Figure 4, valves 60 and 61 control the flow of air under pressure from the hollow interior of handle 21 to the conduits 58 and 59, respectively, and the hollow interior of handle 21 is constantly supplied with air under pressure through the elongated flexible duct 64 which leads from the handle to an air storage tank 65, this tank being in turn connected to a pump of any suitable description by means of an air supply main 66. By alternately pressing the valve actuating buttons 62 and 63 the operator may cause the piston 33, and associated plunger 30, to reciprocate, first moving it upon its working stroke and then'upon its return stroke. It will be understood that when the piston 33 moves on its working stroke air may escape through the duct 40 in advance of the piston and that when the plunger is upon its return movement air may escape from the cylinder through the vent 38. The projector described is of simple character but thoroughly effective in operation. Needless to say, the design and arrangement of its component elements may be considerably modified and, if desired, other power delivering media employed instead of air under pressure.

The elongated flexible air supply conduit 64 is attached at a number of points to trolleys 70 which may move freely longitudinally of cables 71 stretched horizontally between posts 72 and 73. The operator thus has great freedom of movement in positioning the projector head properly against the forward face of a coupler and may walk along the trackway while doing so if for any reason this proves to be necessary or desirable. Inasmuch as any projector is subject to possible mechanical failure several may be provided, as shown in Figure 12, parallel cables 71 supporting additional series of trolleys 70 and additional air conduits connected to projectors which are held in reserve. A stand or bin may be positioned conveniently for the reception of stores of wedges. Thus a single operator, who will position himself safely to one side of the track and advancing cars, may in succession apply wedges to all of the leading couplers of all of the railroad cars passing onto the classification tracks.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a coupler, in combination, a draw head, a knuckle mounted on the draw head for movement from an open to, a closed position and vice versa, said knuckle being in open position with relatively movable portions ofthe knuckle and draw head in spaced relation, andan element interposed between and engaging said portions and preventing accidental relative movement thereof, said element being frangible and adapted to break or crumble to permit closing of the knuckle under the influence of forces applied thereto during a normal coupling operation.

2. In a coupler, in combination, a draw head, a knuckle pivotally mounted upon said draw head movable from an open to a closed position and vice versa, said knuckle being in open position with relative movable portions of the knuckle and draw head in spaced relation, and frangible means engaging knuckle and draw head and preventing rotation of the knuckle until the coupler meets a second coupler during a coupling operation.

3. In a coupler, in combination, a draw head having a recess, a knuckle disposed in part in said recess, means mounting the knuckle for oscillation about an axis, the knuckle being in open position, a frangible element interposed between the knuckle and wall of the recess and engaging mutually facing areas of the knuckle and recess wall, said element being adapted to disintegrate upon the application to the knuckle of closing forces incident to a coupling operation.

4. In a coupler, a draw head, a knuckle pivotally mounted thereon movable from an open to a closed position and vice versa, said knuckle being in open position with relative movable portions of the knuckle and draw head in spaced relation, and a wedge tightly interposed between head and knuckle and preventing rotation of the knuckle except upon the application thereto of a coupling force.

5. The combination with a coupler draw head having a knuckle receiving recess and a concave forward face, a knuckle mounted on said draw head for pivotal move ment relatively thereto, said knuckle having a portion disposed within said recess and a second portion disposed in advance of said concave face of the draw head when the knuckle is open, and a projector for introducing a frangible element into said recess to engage and maintain contact with mutually facing surfaces of said knuckle and the wall of said recess, said projector including means for projecting such an element along a predetermined path, and a head connected to said means, said head and projecting means being rigidly connected and the head having a concave surface which abuts the concave face of the coupler and a downwardly facing surface which engages said second or forwardly projecting portion of the knuckle, the element projecting means being thus definitely positioned for operation.

6. The combination with a coupler draw head and knuckle pivotally mounted thereon of means for projecting a frangible wedge to engage draw head and knuckle and lock the knuckle against movement, and a projector head rigidly connected to said means, said projector head engaging the face of the draw head and resting upon the knuckle whereby the projecting means is accurately positioned with respect to the draw head.

7. A device for inserting a frangible element into the forwardly opening space defined by the draw head and knuckle of a railroad car coupler, comprising in combination, a projector for propelling suchan element along a predetermined path, a projector head rigidly connected to said projector, said projector head having surfaces to closely engage a coupler draw head and knuckle and to thus operatively position the projector with reference to a coupler, and means whereby the projector and projector head may be moved into and out of operative relationship with a coupler from a point outside of the path of movement of a railroad car.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 668,216 Reed Feb. 19, 1901 838,188 Irwin Dec. 11, 1906 1,014,561 Bell Jan. 2, 1912 1,095,000 Kepner Apr. 28, 1914 1,107,166 Janney Aug. 11, 1914 1,808,870 Strasburg June 9, 1931 1,853,696 Olander Apr. 12, 1932 2,038,673 Olander Apr. 28 1936 2,147,034 Heitner Feb. 14, 1939 2,457,930 Smith Jan. 4, 1949 2,462,922 Temple Mar. 1, 1949 2,503,231 Freeman Apr. 4, 1950 

